January 2001

01.03.2001: Central Park, Manhattan, Saturday


I’ve wanted to go to Central Park after a big snow for the longest time. But somehow I pictured it being entirely empty and untrampled. As it turns out, several thousand people had a similar urge. At least they were all in a jovial mood.

The incredible Andrew Zipern on Microsoftianism in Feed: No Place Like the Future

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01.09.2001: Various


Brooklyn, today.
My friends Suzanne and Patrick brought this gum back from Italy. If I had a rock band, I would call it Lemon Crash Brooklyn. From the manufacturer: “Brooklyn is an exclusive part of the young people’s world; it rejects rules and conventions to become a synonym for freedom and independence.”


Department store, Wiesbaden, Germany, October 2000
Euro branding shortcut: Let’s stick some of that African-American culture on there! Like many Harlem walkers, the little man on the left is wearing a Buckingham Palace guard’s hat. Go ahead with style.

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01.11.2001: Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Sunday


This building is across the street from Aimee’s house. The graffito on the right expresses unhappiness with the expansion of Williamsburg’s trendy nightlife scene into quiet residential blocks. The one on the left expresses a more personal concern: “WHERE IS MY FAX MACHINE CRACK HEAD?”

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01.14.2001: Manhattan, Saturday


When Scottish pollution mogul Garth touches down at JFK, he tells his limo driver to take him straight to Mehanata, the hottest Bulgarian nightclub in Chinatown. “Great place to party: birthdays, weddings, divorces…”

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01.16.2001: Underberg Building, Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn


Who is Mr. Underberg? Unclear. But a search for info on the Williamsburg Bank Building (right) turns up a grab bag of obscurities.
See also 11.25.2000.

12.29.03 UPDATE: J. Chino sent me a note over the summer about the Underberg Building:

As far as that building is concerned, I worked there for 15 years and my dad for 40! Mr. Underberg was a mover and shaker in the area for many years, involved with B’nai Brith and many other organizations, as a well as being active in boating by Sheepshead Bay back in the 40’s and 50’s. He had a bungalow there as a summer retreat and he had numerous trophies attesting to his boating endeavors. The building itself had people living on the top floors till about 1970, the bottom level housed a company called Samuel Underberg inc. which was a food store supply outfit that would have everything a store would need( carts, signs, stock moving equipment, aluminum goods etc….everything except food) Waldbaum was our largest account, but we would also deal with smaller places such as Balducci’s and Zabars. Mr Underberg passed away around 1983 and his wife lived till 96 years old, and recently passed. That building was just sold by the Underberg family and even though it was in disrepair, it is a prime spot and they got somewhere near 1 million dollars or so. I believe it will be renovated and will have offices there.

The building will now apparently be demolished to make way for a megacomplex. Oh yeah, and the tall one is officially the Williamsburgh (sic) Savings Bank Building.

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01.18.2001: Guest photo


Anonymous found-object guest photo today, via Penny:

[The rest of this post got eaten up somehow.]

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01.19.2001: Manhattan, Wednesday


Joshua, walking backwards.


Bot (their card actually says “:bot”), new retro-futurist restaurant on Mott St.


Joshua’s stairs.

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01.23.2001: Takumi-san, Tokushima, Japan


Special guest photos today by Jung, who hung out with our old roommate Satomi and her family in Japan recently. Takumi is 3. Apparently he likes ice cream. He also talks!


Takumi checks out some tasty dried fish. Mmm.

Coincidentally, a reader in Hyderabad, Pakistan, writes:

>Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2001 21:12:26 +0500
>From: amir <syed1@hyd.compol.com>
>X-Accept-Language: en
>Subject: i want friend ship in japan

End of message. Are you in Japan? Amir is waiting.

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01.24.2001: Various


Beijing, November
Another special guest photo by Jung, who has been to more interesting places than I have lately. Happy new year!


Williamsburg, Brooklyn, January

A correction to yesterday’s entry: Even if you are in Japan, don’t write to Amir in Pakistan unless you are in a position to offer him an immigration or work visa on humanitarian grounds.

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01.27.2001: Brooklyn


D train over the Manhattan Bridge, Wednesday
Passengers have a four-minute window in which to check their voice mail before the train drops out of the sky and back into a hole in the ground.


Williamsburg, Brooklyn, yesterday
Happy birthday to Josh.

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